GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — The fifth resumed session of the intergovernmental negotiating committee to advance a global plastics treaty (INC-5.2) ended with no global agreement to end plastic pollution and no clear path forward. The nearly two week negotiating process was haphazard with limits on civil society participation. While next steps are still unclear, a majority of countries remain aligned on the need to address the full life cycle of plastics in order to end the plastic pollution crisis.
Kristen McDonald, senior plastics director at Pacific Environment, issued the following statement: “It is disappointing that negotiators could not agree on a treaty this week, but there’s still hope for a treaty that truly addresses plastic pollution. The negotiations have been far from perfect, but through this process we have gained a deeper scientific understanding of how plastic pollutes and causes harm, stronger consensus among Member States on key issues like the need to address production, and more global attention to the plastic crisis and understanding of the most important solutions.”
Xuan Quach, Vietnam country director at Pacific Environment, issued the following statement: “Over the last two weeks, the majority of member states rejected new treaty texts introduced by the chair as disappointing, unacceptable and weak. We are now reverting back to the treaty text presented months ago in Busan. The negotiation process has utilized many resources and has wasted time owing to lack of voting: Consensus has not — and will not — work and it is time to fix the process so that we can get a treaty that can successfully end plastic pollution.”
At INC 5.2, key points of disagreement continued to center on core provisions of the treaty, including production cuts, chemicals of concern and financing. Additionally, some countries continue to demand consensus-based decision-making which would drive down ambition for a strong treaty. Member states and civil society alike continued to call for voting as an option if consensus cannot be reached.
Like previous negotiations, fossil fuel lobbyists flooded INC 5.2 in record numbers with at least 234 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered. Major fossil fuel and chemical companies were in attendance, including Dow, the American Chemistry Council and ExxonMobil.
INC Chair Luis Vayas put forth two revised treaty texts during the final hours of INC 5.2, which were rejected by Member States. At least eighty countries including Columbia, Ghana, Chile, Panama, 37 Small Island Developing States, the EU and others made clear that the chair’s texts were unacceptable as the basis of negotiations due to weak language on production, lack of binding obligations, and other issues. If the process continues, the negotiations will now revert back to the draft text introduced by the chair at the conclusion of the negotiations at INC-5 in Busan on December 2024. However, the next steps for this process remain unclear and the chair was unable to provide clarity during the closing plenary.
While the outcome of INC 5.2 is disappointing, efforts to solve the plastic crisis will not end here. The negotiating process has led to an increasing body of research on the true costs of the plastic pollution crisis, including health, environmental and economic impacts. And many delegates and observers are already preparing for the next stage of effort including reviewing options for the treaty process to continue, as well as renewed efforts to address the plastic pollution crisis at the national and local level.
Urgent global action must be taken on plastic. Plastic is made from fossil fuels and produces greenhouse gasses at every stage. Our modeling shows that plastic must be reduced by at least 75% to stay within global climate limits. Less than 10% of plastic is recycled globally — the rest ends up in landfills, burned in incinerators or dumped directly into the environment. About 22% of plastic waste is mismanaged and ends up as litter. A growing body of science shows the negative health impacts of plastics on our health, from high cancer rates in communities living near petrochemical plants to fertility issues from microplastics in ovaries. If left unchecked, plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.
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